For those who don't know, Ben LeRoy and Alison Janssen are the brains and talent (they are both, both) behind the success of Bleak House Books. Ben started the company in 2001, and Alison came on in 2003. Together, they have published some of the best crime fiction in recent years (in 2008 three of their titles were Edgar Award-nominated - an unprecedented achievement by a small, independent publishing house).

So you'd be right in thinking that Ben and Alison are two of the smartest folks in publishing, and that they are possessed of great taste.

One of the Edgar-nominated titles was the Chicago Blues anthology, edited by our own Libby Hellmann, and containing stories by most "Outfitters". I spoke with Ben last night, and he had this message:

Building Bleak House Books was a years long process and one of the projects we are most proud of is Chicago Blues. A special thank you is due to most of the members of the Outfit. And Laura Caldwell has become a great friend of the company. I appreciate all of you so much and look forward to working with you all in some capacity moving forward.

I'd also like to thank all of the support that readers, reviewers,and retailers have provided us. As we move forward on this exciting new venture, we want to assure everybody that we will continue to deliver the best books we know how. Love to everybody.

As Ben and Alison start their new adventure, they also leave Bleak House stocked with some excellent titles, including Libby's upcoming novel DOUBLEBACK, and Jen Jordan's short story anthology, UNCAGE ME.

If this post reads like an unbridled love letter to Ben and Alison ... well, it is. In addition to being two of the smartest people I've met in publishing, they are also two of the finest human beings I've had the pleasure of knowing.

I am very happy for them, and excited to see what they will do at Tyrus Books.

26 comments:

Sean thanks for this update! I am so happy that indie firms like this exist. I hope to be able to work with people like Ben and Alison in the future when I finish my manuscript. (And don't worry guys, I've already read your submission guidelines.)I wish them the best of luck in their new venture.

I've been fans of first Ben and then the dynamic duo of Ben & Alison since I first met them. No one, and I mean no one is more passionate about Crime as a means towards fiction than this pair. That they are taking such a big step to further improve upon an already A+ product does not surprise anyone who's read the catalog to date. But man we're about to go on excellent adventure, and yes we should all do the Monkey Dance in celebration, but it must end with a cartwheel.

Did you know that Ben was involved in a nasty affair with a 36 year old married mother of two in Tennessee? That's right, during all those frequent trips down south, he would shack up with her in a hotel room, while her husband was watching the kids. Seems like Ben has a taste for southern moms and adventure!